Foxconn to begin assembling MacBooks in Vietnam within months

Apple plans to move some MacBook assembly out of China to Vietnam for the first time next year as the Cupertino Colossus continues its efforts to diversify away from China amid the CCP’s failed “Zero COVID” lockdown insanity and escalating tech tensions between the U.S. and China.
The logo of electronics contract manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, is displayed at its headquarters in Taipei. Photo: Agence France-Presse
Cheng Ting-Fang for Nikkei Asia:

Apple has tapped its top supplier, Taiwan’s Foxconn, to start making MacBooks in the Southeast Asian nation as early as around May, sources briefed on the matter said. Apple has been working to add production sites outside of China for all of its major product lines, but doing so for the final one, the MacBook, has taken longer due to the complex supply chain needed for making laptop computers.
“After the MacBook production shifts, all of Apple’s flagship products basically will have one more production location beyond China … iPhones in India and MacBooks, the Apple Watch and iPads in Vietnam,” one person with direct knowledge of the matter told Nikkei Asia. “What Apple wants now is an ‘out of China’ option for at least part of production for all of its products.”
Apple makes between 20 million and 24 million MacBooks annually, with production spread between bases in the Chinese cities of Chengdu, in Sichuan province, and Shanghai.
The shift to Vietnam comes amid not only rising geopolitical tensions but also production disruptions caused by China’s zero-COVID policies and uncertainty from their sudden loosening in recent weeks.
For China, the loss of its lock on MacBook production symbolizes the broader weakening of its position as the world’s factory. Top electronics makers from Apple, HP and Dell, to Google and Meta have all made at least some plans to shift production and sourcing away from China since former U.S. President Donald Trump started a tariff war against the country.

MacDailyNews Take: The faster this moves along, the better.
See also:
• India uses generous subsidies, hefty import taxes to woo Apple suppliers – December 20, 2022
• Tim Cook firmly latched Apple onto China’s CCP teat. What’s his plan for weaning it off? – November 2, 2022
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